Lands End to Fort William 6 Days 677.5 miles!!!!
Hi Friends
Not much happening this, i’ve been on a recovery week. So I decided to put together a montage of Lands End to Fort William that Ben and I completed last September.
If not for the 60 mph wind we would have made it to John O’Groats! Not to worry a great experience was had by all.
A Tale of many Towns and Double Blowout!!!!
Well it’s been 2wks since my last post and not a lot has changed, it’s still cold and i’m still trying to keep warm!
Training over the last 2 wks has gone something like this Bristol to Cheddar and back, Bristol to Weston and back and Bristol to Clevedon and back. Mixed with a few longer 90 minute spins and my famous monday morning spin class a friday night spin class.
I don’t want to go into any great depth about these rides because there’s nothing to go into any great depth about, you know get on the bike, pedal somewhere then pedal back. although here’s a question, why is it when it feels like there is no wind and then the second your on the move it feels like force 10 gale is blowing into your face?
I look at the tree’s and their not even blowing, can someone explain what is going on!!!
Anyway, the highlight of the last 2 wks has to be the double blowout and thankfully it wasn’t me, sorry Greg but in the nicest possible way i’m glad it was you! Sorry!
Greg and I decided to head out on a 70 miler Bristol-Clevedon-Congresbury-Burrington Combe-Bath-Bristol.
We get to the downs and Greg experiences a problem with his front mech, ok not a problem just stay on the top ring. Heading up Burrington Combe we see Bad Ass Bikes new shop drop in and get it sorted, brilliant.
Next coming into Bath over the little hump back bridge and bang! bang! I’m looking round thinking what was that. Greg had hit a pot hole perfectly to blowout his to tires. Luckily I had an inner tube and so did he but it was getting dark and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Our gloves are off trying to fit the inner tubes and gradually we lose all sense of feeling but eventually we’re back on the road.
We get on the cycle path back to bristol and we’re not warming up the hands are still freezing the legs feel heavy so we stop again for a cup of tea, after 20 minutes we hop back on the bikes for the final leg back to bristol.
With all of that the drama was over just the light to contend with and the want to get back and have a hot shower.
When the Snow comes Chris goes inside!
January so far has been a nightmare for winter training and keeping up with my weekly bike hrs has been impossible. The only solution was to go indoors, on the spin bikes for more than 60mins at a time. You might be thinking spending 60-90 mins on a spin is as boring as hell? Do you experience the same? your looking at the same scenery and the clock moves backwards.
Well in 2009 that was exactly what i though but 2010 brought a new principle for endurance spin called chunking.
Chunking is very simple it means taking what seems to be massive task and splitting it into small pieces. So i applied it to 90mins on the bike, first i split it in to three 30mins then two 15mins, 3 5mins and finally 5 1mins sections. This seemed to do the trick, mixing up between standing, seated, sprints, hill climbs, power, endurance.
Have you got what it takes?
At a time when training gets put to the way side and Christmas and new years take over, I didn’t want all my hard work from the previous months to go to waste for 2 weeks over indulgence.
As a Personal Trainer I know all to well how fast our body can lose strength or fitness as I have seen it in myself after Lands End to John O’Groats and in my clients when they have missed a weeks training for whatever reason.
So I escaped to Spain to avoid the madness of the festive period and that brought a new challenge, without my bike how would keep my strength? If you have read my last post you would found out how it went.
So did I maintain my strength? Well, yes is the answer to the question and training can continue on for the new season.
The first challenge has been set to cycle from Lisbon to Bristol its roughly 1400 miles and will dissect through the countryside of Portugal and Spain, before crossing the incredible Pyrenees, following the West coast of France north, then catching a ferry from Cherbourg and onto England for the final stretch back to Bristol.
I was planning to do this on my own but couldn’t think of anything better than sharing the experience of cycling through Europe with like minded individuals. Who out there is would love to be apart of this epic adventure by bicycle? The highs and lows of being on the open road, the amazing scenery and the camaraderie of being apart of a team that achieves such an epic ride.
If you or someone you know would love to apart of this adventure and probably a once in a lifetime bike ride please let me know by leaving a reply to this post and I can then pass on more details.
Thanks for reading, keep up the training and let the 2010 season be the best yet.
Have I kept the Strength in my Legs after Xmas in Spain?
Last week I faced a challenge, for the Xmas week I was heading to Spain. Going to Spain over Xmas was not the challenge, going to Spain without my bike and keeping my strength was. I knew I could go out running but my legs hadn’t run for many months and too much would put them out of action for the week making things worse.
So I wanted to break them in early with a short run early in week but the weather was too cold for the clothes I had packed because I was expecting it to be warmer. I don’t want to sound like a fair weather trainer, but it was!!! My plan was to start with some Body Weight exercises good plan or bad plan? Next day mild soreness, luckily as the week progressed the weather warmed and my legs recovered. With a few days rest I broke into a 40 min run, I was a bit apprehensive to begin but I felt good so I kept running. The next day, yes I was sore again.
Ok more recovery, then Xmas Day I hit the road again and decided to combine the 2 with a run and body weight circuit and kept off the leg exercises so not overload a wise choice I think. Come the following day my legs felt fine a great success in terms of not burning out or overloading but have I kept the strength in my legs? As yet I am not 100% sure, my spin class tomorrow will tell me a lot.
I guess the morale of this story might be, unless you can guarantee you’ll be able to train, as you need to all year round stick to cycling if you cycle. If there are week that you will be off your bike due to holiday or extreme weather keep them in a condition to run or push weights so to keep some fitness in the muscle.
Bicycle Diaries – The single most effective aspect when it comes to Recovery
As I continue to prepare for my mammoth round the world cycle in 2012 another sunday is here; the beginning of a new week begins tomorrow and with end of this week comes the end of a recovery week. To do what I plan to do these weeks are essential for me, sometimes they are tough because I feel like I’m not doing anything productive and other times they are welcome break from the hectic work/training balance.
Not only are my rest weeks critical for me physiologically but also psychologically, so what have I been up to on this rest week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday still provided me with higher intensity training on the spin bike but nothing like normal.
Tuesday complete rest, Thursday complete rest and Saturday and Sunday was a time back in saddle 1hr and 1 ½hr respectively.
Why is it so important for me to take these recovery weeks periodically? They are necessary for my leg muscles to repair and my energy stores to replenish. Probably more important than that last two, if I were to ignore my coach and continue with my intensive training my body and especially legs would break down making my training a hindrance rather than help.
This week has been all about adaptation, when we as athletes put our bodies under stress our body needs time to adapt and when it adapts it will come back stronger. There are limits to how much stress we can cope with at any one time before it breaks down and injure our muscles, so periodically implementing recovery time will only take your body to the next level.
If you can find the correct balance between training and recovery there are no limits on how far you can go and strong you be. Get the balance wrong and stack up too much training you risk injury, rest too much and you risk no progression.
One key to finding that balance will not be found in the text books they are a good guide, the key is in listening to your body.
As Joe Friel States “Exercise + Recovery = Training”
Happy Training
My recovery week begins, are you over training?
As my recovery week begins it could not of come at a better time, the last week has been hectic to say the least. As a Personal Trainer my work week has very unusual hours and put on top of that my training, things can get very manic.
It all started on Thursday last week the 3rd with a 2hr cycle in the morning, the evening was filled with clients and closing the gym so didn’t leave until 11.30pm. Up the next morning for an 8am clients and a again in the gym all day for clients and strength/weights session and an evening of spin class and clients, another 11.30pm gym close.
It doesn’t stop there Saturday morning I was back up a 7am to be at the gym for 9am until 5pm, still then no stopping for me I was home for 1hr and out for a meal with my sister as she is leaving for South Africa in 2 weeks. It was beginning to dawn on me my 3hr cycle on Sunday was not going to happen, this may not seem like much of a big deal but I do not like missing a training session as I plan to cycle 18000 miles in 100 days and body needs to condition and acclimatise itself.
Although my dislike of missing a training session was strong I had a voice in my head saying rest is as important as training. Physically my body has not been stressed, it was my head that was fatigued because it did not switch off for 3 days and I think it was this that dramatically affected my fitness.
In general, one or two nights of poor or little sleep won’t have much impact on performance, but consistently getting inadequate sleep can result in subtle changes in hormone levels, particularly those related to stress, muscle recovery and mood.
While no one completely understands the complexities of sleep, some research indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair), and decreased glycogen synthesis.
To add to my few nights of limited sleep was poor short term recovery which refers to cooling down properly and correctly replenishing energy stores because of the time constraints I put on myself. Recovery is an essential part of any training we do to maximize our performance, listen to your body and when it says to stop, please stop or your body will stop anyway.
To know when it is time take a rest day or miss a training session look out for the tell tell sign of an increased resting heart rate. Lay down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best). At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute. Then stand up, after 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute. After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute and after 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute.
I hope this helps with your training, thank you for reading.
Bicycle Diaries, Winter Training – Wet Wet Wet 22/11/09
The 22nd Nov 09 was a wet day, the rain came in waves so I took to the road for a short 2 lap circuit, this cunning plan to fulfill my weekly hours was formulated because if the rain ever got to mental I wouldn’t be to far from home if i got soaked. Luckily for me rain didn’t persist for a great length of time, all I was left with was a damp jacket and cold, wet feet from the spray off the road.
Another successful 3hrs.
Here’s to wise cycling
Bicycle Diaries – Where have I been today?
Today’s training, a steady 2hr ride.
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Ashton Court
Yanley Lane
Dundry Lane
The Chew Valley
Chew Stoke
Regil
Barrow Gurney
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